Penguin Settlement in E-Books Antitrust Probe Approved by EU

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Bertelsmann SE’s Penguin Random
House settled a European Union antitrust case into e-books after
regulators accepted its offer to overhaul its pricing system.

Apple Inc., the world’s biggest technology company, and
four publishers previously offered similar remedies to allay
European concerns.

“After our decision of December 2012, the commitments are
now legally binding on Apple and all five publishers including
Penguin, restoring a competitive environment in the market for
e-books,” Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s competition chief, said in
an e-mailed statement today.

Penguin offered earlier this year to stop restricting or
impeding e-book retailers from offering discounts or to allow
them to “set, alter or reduce retail prices for e-books” for
two years. The European Commission in Brussels today accepted
the settlement offer.

Bertelsmann’s Random House publishing unit agreed in
October to merge with Pearson’s Penguin to create by far the
largest book publisher in the U.K. and the U.S. The deal
received EU backing in April. The joint venture, named Penguin
Random House and based in New York, is 53 percent-owned by
Bertelsmann, with Pearson holding the remainder, the companies
said in October. Bertelsmann and Pearson on July 1 said the deal
was completed.

If a company breaks EU settlement commitments, the
commission can impose a fine of as much as 10 percent of its
annual global sales.